A/N: Hi everyone! This is my second fanfic for Darkest Powers! I'm a really big fan of Chlerek so I love developing ideas and writing about them. This fanfic will most likely be longer than my previous DP fanfic, Fire and Ice (6 chapters). I'm probably guessing at least 15 chapters or so. Anyway, this idea suddenly came to me recently and I had to write about it, so here it goes!

Disclaimer: I don't own Darkest Powers

Never Alone

(Darkest Powers Fanfic)

Summary: [AU] Chloe is a transfer student for Lyle Academy, which is known for their special duo programs: Gen-Ed and Arts-Ed. However, due to the reason that she transferred late, the dorm rooms are all filled with the exception of one: Derek Souza's.

Chapter 1: Back to Oakridge

As the soft humming of the car's engine slowed to a stop, I glanced out the window to look at my new school. It wasn't the first time that I had changed schools in my life. Nor was it my second. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the number of times that I had to change schools exceeded the number of years that I've been alive for. It wasn't like I wanted to go to a different school every time my dad moved from location to location for his work; there just wasn't a choice. At least this time, I moved back to an area that I was somewhat familiar with, considering that I had once lived here about eight years ago, when I was 8. Only difference was that this time, I was going to go to a private school that wasn't exactly in town. Lyle Academy was located on the outskirts of Oakridge and took at least an hour and a half to drive out here. So that is why I decided to live on campus.

A voice pulled me from my thoughts, "Do you have everything you need, Chloe?"

I glanced back at my aunt, who seemed to grow more and more concerned with the passing minute. "Yes, Aunt Lauren. I'm sure that I have everything packed. Besides, dorm rooms aren't really big to begin with, so there wasn't much need to bring everything," I replied.

Aunt Lauren frowned. "For a well known school, they should make their dorms more comfortable for their residents," she commented.

I shrugged. You can't have everything in life. I got out of the car and Aunt Lauren popped open the trunk and took out my luggage. I didn't have a lot, just the necessities and some mementos from my friends that went to my previous schools. As I hoisted my backpack over my shoulders, Aunt Lauren turned to me, "Do you want me to come in with you?" she offered.

I shook my head. "No, I'll be fine on my own. Besides, I was told that my transfer details got through without a problem," I said.

That was a part of the reason why I didn't want Aunt Lauren coming in with me. Usually no one else had their parents hovering over their shoulders at everything they do and I wanted to fit in. Well, Aunt Lauren wasn't exactly a parent, but she was my guardian while my dad was away on work. My mom died in a car accident when I was little, so Aunt Lauren had taken it upon herself to make sure that I had a female role model to look up to. I do love her but she could be a little over-caring at times.

Aunt Lauren looked unconvinced and started to say something before changing her mind. "Alright then, if you're sure," she said at last while I confirmed my decision. "Well, if you have anything you ever want to talk about, you can always phone me. I'll wait for you to enter the school before I drive off then."

She gave me brief hug before I walked the path up to the academy. As I approached, I could see that to the left of Lyle Academy was a large grass field meant for soccer or football whereas to the right of the academy were the dormitories. Throughout the campus, kids dressed in uniforms were seen in groups or on their own as I continued my walk. Some gave me quizzical looks while others merely glanced at me before heading off to their destinations. I guess it wasn't that common to have late transfer students in the middle of September. Once I reached the main doors, I looked back Aunt Lauren and her silver Mercedes and waved. She waved back before starting the car and driving down the driveway. I entered the building and my eyes adjusted to the contrast in light. Inside, more of the student body was buzzing around, their voices bouncing off the walls. Walking a little further in, I arrived at the office door and entered. Once inside, the drone of voices from the hallway became muted. Looking up from her desk, the secretary glanced at me. She had graying hair and had a kind grandmother-ly face. "Hello, is there something that I could help you with?" she asked.

Shifting my backpack to one shoulder, I slipped my hand inside and took out my transfer papers. "I'm Chloe Saunders and I'm transferring in today," I told her as I gave her my papers.

The secretary took them and gave them a quick scan. "Oh that's right, I faintly recall being reminded of that earlier this morning. Welcome to Lyle Academy, Chloe, I'm Mrs. Talbot," she said kindly as she looked up my profile on her computer.

I murmured my thanks as I watch her reach into her filing cabinet drawer and pull something out. She then placed them on the desk facing me. "This is your schedule with the courses that you requested for and there is a map on the backside. All of your courses will have the room number as well as the associated teacher on your timetable," said Mrs. Talbot.

She also handed me a key with a room number on it, C305. "Let me guess, my room key?" I suggested as I looked down at the small brass key in my palm.

Mrs. Talbot smiled. "Yes, Chloe. You have C dorm with the room number 305," she said as her smile faded slightly. "It says on the records that you initially asked for a single gendered dorm, which would have been dorm A. However, you transferred late into the month and because of that, the single gendered dorm has already been filled."

I shrugged. It wasn't a really big deal to me whether I was in a girl's dormitory or a co-gender dormitory instead. "That's ok, I don't mind," I reassured her.

My reassurance, however, didn't seem to please Mrs. Talbot as she started to frown. "It also says here that the co-gender dorm rooms were already filled with two residents per room with the exception of one room. That room is room that you're assigned to. But that's not all. Apparently, you're also rooming with a young man by the name of Derek Souza," she said.

My heart thudded loudly in my chest. I had to room with a guy? "B-but don't usually residents of a single gender share a room?" I asked as I gripped the brass key firmly in my hand, its edges cutting into the skin of my palm.

Mrs. Talbot nodded. "That is true, but it doesn't seem to be the case here. All the other residents have already been assigned room mates and that won't be able to be changed until further notice," she answered.

"I'm sure you and Derek will get along fine," Mrs. Talbot added with a small sympathetic smile. "However, if there is an extreme problem, it is important that you report it to me right away. Then I could let the headmaster, Mr. Davidoff, know. Also, if you'd like, you could leave your luggage here and I could get someone to bring it up to your room for you while you take a tour around the school."

My shoulders slumped in defeat as I mumbled my thanks and slipped the key into my pocket. So, I was going to room with a guy. That's no big deal, right? Well, it probably would be if I didn't stutter like crazy and sound like an idiot when I talk to guys. As for my dating life, well, that was pretty non-existent. I'm short, I look like I'm 12, I have close to no curves and I have a speech impediment. This is the worst situation I could get myself into. I sighed heavily as I began to familiarize myself with the campus. Because today was my first day, I didn't have any classes until tomorrow morning.

As I found my locker and inserted some of my school books into there, I heard someone calling me. "Hey! You there with the blond hair and red streaks!"

I spun around looking for the owner of that cheerful voice. A familiar blond girl ran towards me, her long legs moving gracefully as she crossed the hall. "Chloe! Is that you?" she asked.

My eyes widened as I took on the sight of my old friend from when I had lived here. "L-liz?" I asked uncertainly.

She grinned, her whole face lighting up in delight. "Oh wow, it really is you! I can't believe it. It's been forever since I last saw you!" Liz exclaimed happily.

"Technically, it's been eight," another voice cut in.

I looked behind Liz and saw another girl with short, dark spiky hair striding towards us. "Well, I know that, obviously, but I'm so happy to see Chloe," Liz retorted to her friend.

The dark haired girl gave me a small smile. "It's been a while, Chloe," she said.

I returned her smile. "Yeah, it's good to see you too, Tori," I replied.

Elizabeth Delaney, or Liz, was my neighbour when I last lived in Oakridge, back when I was 8 years old. She was always really friendly and bubbly and I had taken an instant liking to her back then. Now, I could see that she was still the same. Victoria Enright, or Tori, was originally one of Liz's friends. In the beginning, I thought she was rather stuck up and cynical as a kid, which resulted in a lot of kids in our class hating her. But as time passed, she treated me as an equal and stood up for me when the other kids laughed at my stuttering.

"Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" Liz asked as she shifted her messenger bag to her other shoulder.

I shrugged. When I had to move, I was extremely torn about the fact that I wouldn't be able to see my two good friends again, but we had promised to keep in contact through 3-way phone calls and instant messaging. "Well, things were pretty busy lately with all the moving. I was send you guys a message saying that I was back in Oakridge tonight, but I guess that's not needed now," I admitted.

Liz grinned again. "That's really great that the three of us get to hang out together again. We can continue our midnight rituals of midnight feasting and gossiping in dorm A," she said.

Tori snorted. "As long as you don't eat everything immediately, like you used to do," she added.

My smile faded as I realized that they were both in a different dorm. "I-i didn't a-actually get into dorm A," I admitted quietly.

Liz and Tori looked at me in confusion. "Then you're in dorm C?" Tori asked. "How'd you get there?"

I sighed as I recalled what Mrs. Talbot had told me. Liz looked slightly down that we wouldn't be able to have our weekly rituals of eating snacks at midnight, like we used to do during sleepovers, but she was able to manage a smile. "Well, that hinders a few things, but at least you're living in residence with the rest of us. Who's your room mate anyway?"

I swallowed hard. "Since all the other rooms are already filled up, I have to room with a g-guy," I answered nervously as I shifted my weight to one foot.

Tori's eyebrows shot to her hairline. "Seriously? Whoa, that's actually pretty legit. I didn't know that guys and girls can share rooms. If it weren't for my mom, I'd probably try to get into dorm C,"

Liz nodded emphatically. "That is pretty cool, though I wouldn't know how to act normal around him. I'd probably talk his ear off and make him annoyed enough to request for a transfer. But who's the lucky guy? Have you met him? Is he cute?" she questioned as she waved for us to walk.

I shrugged. "I don't know since I haven't met him yet. I heard from Mrs. Talbot that his name is Derek Souza," I said nonchalantly.

I walked a few paces forward before realizing that my two friends had stopped moving altogether. Frowning, I turned around to look at them. "What's the matter?"

Tori and Liz both had identical faces that revealed shock and disbelief. "Did you just say Derek Souza?" Tori asked.

I nodded slowly, still not understanding. "Yeah... what's wrong with you two?" I questioned as my frown deepened.

Liz and Tori exchanged a quick glance before turning to me. "He's kind of... weird," Tori said slowly as though she didn't quite know how to explain it to me.

My heart thudded loudly. "W-what do you mean 'weird'?" I stammered as images of rooming with a mentally ill adolescent male filled my head.

"Not 'weird' really," Liz said quickly. "Just that he's a bit on the quiet side."

"You mean that he keeps to himself?"

Tori nodded. "Yeah. He also doesn't have any friends. Other than his brother, Simon. Who's super cute by the way," she added.

Liz gave her a knowing smile and nudged her. "You still like him after he turned you down?"

"No way! I'm just saying that he's cute. I'm definitely not chasing after a guy who rejects me. That would be pathetic and stupid on my part," Tori replied with a snort. "Besides, there are better guys out there."

"W-wait. Tell me more about D-derek," I said, desperate to know what I was in store for.

Liz looked thoughtful. "Strangely enough, I think he's a year older than we are, but he's in our grade. Not sure of the reason why. He kind of has an intimidating air about him, so everyone usually leaves him alone, except for his brother. They're real close despite being in different faculties. Derek's in Gen-Ed whereas Simon is in Arts-Ed with me," she explained as she nodded down at her uniform. "Maybe Tori knows more since she's in Gen-Ed as well."

Tori rolled her eyes. "There's a bunch of rumors flying around about Derek, but I don't know whether or not they're real. No one knows much about him and although Simon's the friendlier of the two, he won't spill the beans about his brother," she confessed. "My advice? If I were you, I'd have as little contact with Derek as possible. You don't want to piss him off."

And with that, we reached the dormitories. I bid Tori and Liz goodbye as they headed off to dorm A while I walked towards dorm C. Once inside, I saw a mix of students, mostly out of their uniforms and into their regular clothing. They were mainly just hanging out in the common area or doing homework at the individual tables nearby. For the most part, they just gave me a curious look before returning to their conversations. I made my way up three flights of stairs before landing on the third floor.

My heart thudded with each and every step that I took, bringing me closer and closer to my designated room. The brass numbers on the doors went by in a blur as I focused only on one number: C305. Finally, in what felt like seconds and probably was, I stood outside room C305.

I took a deep breath. This was it; time to meet my new room mate for the rest of the year. I inserted the key into the lock and turned to the right, unlocking the door. Then I opened the door and walked in.

A/N: Yep, I'm cruel like that. Cliff-hanger right off the bat. Any predictions for the next chapter? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you have any comments or constructive criticism, I'd love to hear about it. Please look forward to the next chapter!